PSVR Accounted For Over 90% Of Japan’s VR Headset Shipments In 2016

There’s steady growth across the VR industry, but the market is under a microscope nevertheless. Mass consumer adoption is the goal and many eyes are looking out for what will ultimately inspire the transition in the average consumer’s household. Considering the average consumer’s desire for entertainment, it makes sense that some expect gaming to be the spark and it looks like the PlayStation VR (PSVR) is leading that charge in Japan as reported on eMarketer.

2016 marked the birth of the modern virtual reality era with the launch of HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and PSVR. Sony’s headset was a bit late to the party but stepped into the fray with an established device already in homes (the PS4) that could power the headset which made for easier adoption. eMarketer’s reporter compiled statistics from the International Data Corporation (IDC), finding that PSVR accounted for more than 90% of VR headset shipments in Japan by the end of Q4 2016. Recently back in late February, Sony also confirmed it was nearing 1M headsets sold already.

No matter how it all shakes out, it looks like PSVR will be the face of the immersive movement in Japan. This doesn’t set anything in stone when it comes to massive adoption for average consumer households around the world, but can other VR hardware creators learn from it? Is there something to this seemingly insurmountable lead Sony has established beyond Sony being a Japanese company? Time will tell.

I think it’s because psvr is the only affordable headset, considering that all you have to have is a ps4, while the other headsets require expensive pcs, it will be interesting when xbox scorpio comes out with a vr headset, maybe consoles can make vr become mainstream, know one wants to spend money on a thousand dollar pc.

Sefus

oh and I think the mass population in japan live in apartments meaning that they probably don’t have the room requirements for stuff like the vive.

野生の男(Wild Man)

Hello, I’m Japanese.
Because there are too few supplies for demand, Japanese PSVR is a panic state.
However, Rift and Vive have fewer supplies.
In Japan, Oculus Rift does not sell retail for unknown reason. The consumer can buy Oculus Rift only in Oculus official site. Judging from the PC literacy of the Japanese consumer, this is very difficult.
And HTC Vive sold only PC Specialty stores (Not available in large Japanese electronics store like US’s Best Buy yet). Not for many consumers(Japan is mainly smartphone market.)

Jonny C

Hello. Japan is mainly smartphone market. The Samsung Gear is only 5.5% according to the pie chart above which surprised me.

野生の男(Wild Man)

In a sad thing, Samsung Japan is a very weak seller in Japan. They under Apple and Sony and other Japanese maker.
Example, they did not release Galaxy Note 4 in Japan.
Therefore many consumers does not attention Gear VR series.

Jonny C

Thanks. That it is very interesting. Who would of thought with Japan’s huge weight in the electronic market it would be waiting for Apple to enter the VR market.

Dave Moore

Does PSVR already have a “killer app” in Summer Lesson for Japanese customers?